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I've just got the Pug 206 back from the mechanics' after they've had to drill a hole for a new oversized sump plug.

Last weekend, I'd decided to do an oil change which is a pretty easy sort of thing to do and after boshing in a load of engine flush, I tried to undo the previous sump plug and found that it just spun about and wouldn't come out.
I suspect that who'd ever did the last oil change, used a rattle gun or impact drill to screw in the old sump plug and had jolly well stripped all of the threads off. Probably some dim-witted seventeen year old apprentice who was more worried about facebookery on his iDevice than actually bothering to do a job properly.

$355 later and several days off the road, for a stupid part that should have cost less than a few bucks and no more than an hour at most. I'm not taking my car back to those jokers ever again.

The Old Republic was a stupidly run organisation which deserved to be taken over. All Hail Palpatine!

^mechanics are infuriating at the best of times...my motorbike (which runs pretty well) sort of coughed and died on a traffic signal yesterday...I had an inkling that the battery may not have had juice since the Neutral N LED was blinking for a day or two...so the beast would not start (electric start disabled and of course with no battery power it wouldn't have worked). So after lugging the 192kg thing around for a few hundred mtrs in terribly humid afternoon in chaotic traffic in the small lanes of the old town, finally found a mechanic who dared open the thing up (apparently other normal moped/mobike guys won't touch an Enfield even though it was just to check the battery levels!)

1 hour of waiting around in the heat for the guy to finish up his other bikes, and finally he deems it fit to open the battery compartment, which is basically dry - adding distilled water and kick starting the bike to recharge the battery - less than 5 min job for which I spent a couple of hours, a lot of sweat and a nice little 100 rupee note

...
Mr Slater said: "It makes me very angry, I'm a professional photographer - it costs me over £2,000 to do the trip. It's my livelihood.
"You take 20,000 shots to get one image that sells, it was potentially a good earner for me, I've lost over £10,000 pounds because of it."- The Daily Mirror, 22 Aug 2014

I think that this is a terrible miscarriage of justice. The US copyright office has now basically said that when an animal takes a photograph, copyright can not be claimed by the person who took it.
This sends a very strong message to professional photographers: DO NOT under any circumstances give your camera equipment to anyone else. Never let an animal take another selfie ever again as there is now zero monetary incentive to produce this sort of photograph.

The Old Republic was a stupidly run organisation which deserved to be taken over. All Hail Palpatine!

I work in international development. To explain it in simple terms, that's more developed countries helping less developed countries cope with their problems (working on their political system, fighting corruption, securing economic growth, preventing HIV/AIDS etc.). My problem is I've been doing too much paperwork. I want something more direct.

When you change jobs for every year you were at the previous job it will take you 1 month to settle into the new one. In time you'll get your boss's measure.
Rudi, is it not possible with your employer to transfer to a diferent department where the work is more "hands on". If you don't ask they won't know you're interested and may think you are totally contented with what you're doing.
It's a Bank Holiday (public holiday) in England today. As usual it's raining - why does it always seem to rain on a bank holiday?

When you change jobs for every year you were at the previous job it will take you 1 month to settle into the new one. In time you'll get your boss's measure.
Rudi, is it not possible with your employer to transfer to a diferent department where the work is more "hands on". If you don't ask they won't know you're interested and may think you are totally contented with what you're doing.
It's a Bank Holiday (public holiday) in England today. As usual it's raining - why does it always seem to rain on a bank holiday?

My best shot would be to ask for a short term assignment to one of the exotic (and maybe dangerous) countries. That might work or it might not as I have to do a big project design this year and stay in the office. Otherwise I will have to look for a new job and I already do.

On a totally different note, I am very much interested in jazz rock fusion. People like John Etheridge and Allan Holdsworth are incredibly creative and musicianship is top notch.